Chlamydia test monitoring during therapy.

Forty-eight women with chlamydial cervicitis were followed with chlamydial culture and antigen tests (immunofluorescence and enzyme immunoassays) during the course of therapy to study the rate of disappearance of viable organisms and chlamydial antigen. On treatment day 2, two-thirds of the patients were positive by one or more of the tests while 81% were negative by all tests on day 4. All screening methods used had turned negative on the 6th day of therapy. The antigens were found to persist somewhat longer than viable organisms. This persistance should, however, be of no clinical significance.